GENERAL COMMENTS:
It's been a mixed morning for the livestock complex as the cattle contract continues to trade higher, but the lean hog complex needs more fundamental support before its contracts will be able to trade higher. No developments have surfaced in the cash market and won't likely be until Thursday or Friday. May corn is down 10 1/2 cents per bushel and May soybean meal is up $0.40. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 265.32 points and NASDAQ is up 27.09 points.
LIVE CATTLE:
The live cattle complex continues to diligently trade higher and higher seeming to shock even the most bullish-minded folks. Etching out new contract highs is currently the market's norm, and with ample fundamental support, it's anyone's guess at this point where the top could be. June live cattle are up $1.12 at $210.75, August live cattle are up $1.10 at $206.42 and October live cattle are up $0.95 at $204.07. Nothing has surfaced yet for this week's cash cattle trade, and it's not likely that anything will before Thursday or Friday. Feedlot managers are again going to aim for higher prices, but with packers cutting throughput drastically, steady prices may be the best feedlot managers get this week unless packers are still short-bought.
Boxed beef prices are mixed: choice is up $3.42 ($346.19) and select is down $0.31 ($324.81) with a movement of 61 loads (27.95 loads of choice, 11.18 loads of select, 13.69 loads of trim and 8.11 loads of ground beef).
FEEDER CATTLE:
The feeder cattle complex is hungry for more and it's not being bashful about how it is aggressively trading higher. May feeders are up $3.00 at $294.80, August feeders are up $2.65 at $297.60 and September feeders are up $2.32 at $296.40. And thankfully, the feeder cattle complex has been robustly supported in terms of fundamental support as buyers are actively seeking out calves/feeders to sure up their orders as turn out season is quickly approaching.
LEAN HOGS:
Although pork cutout values are slightly higher, the lean hog contracts are trading mostly lower as traders simply need more fundamental encouragement. The market has posted a considerable rally since the first week of April, but now that traders are feeling some resistance pressure, it seems as though traders are scratching their heads and looking around for more support. June lean hogs are down $0.80 at $100.20, July lean hogs are down $0.65 at $100.57 and August lean hogs are down $0.20 at $99.02.
The projected lean hog index for 4/28/2025 is up $0.60 at $88.78, and the actual index for 4/25/2025 is up $0.64 at $88.18. Hog prices average $92.76 on the Daily Direct Morning Hog Report, ranging from $87.00 to $94.00 on 3,830 head and a five-day rolling average of $91.62. Pork cutouts total 175.86 loads with 159.84 loads of pork cuts and 16.02 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $0.30, $97.92.
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